Bret Mann looks up in Black Box studio

Bret Mann retires after decades as the ATLAS Instituteā€™s behind-the-scenes tech guru

June 27, 2024

Bret Mann, technical manager and broadcast engineer for ATLAS B2 Center for Media, Arts and Performance, retires on July 1, 2024. He was instrumental in designing the ATLAS Instituteā€™s technical capabilities from the early days and oversaw dozens of technically-complex performances and events in the Black Box Experimental Studio.

examples of multi-color biofibers

Wear it, then recycle: ATLAS Designers make dissolvable textiles from gelatin

June 17, 2024

In a new study, a team of ATLAS engineers and designers developed a DIY machine that spins textile fibers made of materials like sustainably sourced gelatin. The groupā€™s ā€œbiofibersā€ feel a bit like flax fiber and dissolve in hot water in minutes to an hour.

Community members stand around a table playing with Collaborator together at EXPO 2024 in the Audio Frequency Lab

ATLAS Team Scores at SynthUX Hackathon

June 3, 2024

A team of students in the Audio Frequency Lab designed and built the Collaborator multi-player synthesizer, taking home top honors at this year's Synthux International Synth Design Hackathon.

Photo series of SCOBY growth with corresponding musical notes

Microbiology as meditation: Living Matter Lab explores ā€œlivingnessā€ in time

April 8, 2024

The Living Matter Lab pursues a deeper understanding of alternative perspectives on temporality through a surprising medium: kombucha SCOBY.

A detail view of the interface used to control the cloth.

Unstable Design Lab 2023 Residency in Review

Sept. 28, 2023

The 2023 Experimental Weaving Residency, featuring Elizabeth Meiklejohn, has left us with new understandings about electromagnetics and cloth movement.

Flower pots 3D printed from spent coffee grounds

3D printing with coffee: Turning used grounds into caffeinated creations

Sept. 8, 2023

Utility Research Lab director Michael Rivera uses surprising materials to fabricate useful objects.

NSF logo

ATLAS Institute Faculty Nationally Recognized for Radical Creativity and Invention

June 8, 2023

The National Science Foundationā€™s CAREER award is among the most prestigious honors supporting junior faculty doing outstanding work integrating research and education toward a meaningful social impact. The CAREER award is highly competitive and is a strong indicator of future research success. Award criteria focus on intellectual merit and broad...

woman wearing tank-top style shirt made from kombucha scobe with led lights embedded

Kombucha chic: How one student uses microbes, and time, to grow her own clothes

May 4, 2023

Biodesign researcher Fiona Bell says that anyone, anywhere can grow their own clothing right from their kitchens. You start by brewing a batch of kombucha.